Smucker takes big fat chance on anti-obesity drugs 11 Sep 2023 The peanut butter and jelly company is paying an unhealthy $5.6 bln to buy Twinkies maker Hostess. Boss Mark Smucker makes no bones about doubling down on sweet snacks. As Ozempic and other treatments threaten demand, it’s a strategy that would work if it weren’t so expensive.
Richard Li can afford to be fifth time lucky 11 Sep 2023 The tycoon’s Asian insurer FWD looks set to let its Hong Kong listing application lapse. Ending its fourth IPO push is sensible: it doesn’t urgently need funds. Yet Li’s multi-year run at a debut for his sober business is turning into a test for the languishing capital market.
Deal cops start practically walking the beat 8 Sep 2023 Rebuffed by court losses, US trustbusters seem almost conciliatory, dropping lawsuits against drugmaker Amgen’s $28 bln Horizon deal and ICE’s $12 bln takeover of Black Knight. Hardliners may object, but imposing tough remedies paves the way for stiff scrutiny that’s sustainable.
Sculptor standoff makes sense mainly for one guy 8 Sep 2023 The $34 bln hedge fund manager keeps snubbing a rival takeover bid led by Boaz Weinstein. His group is offering 14% more than agreed buyer Rithm and has made some helpful concessions. Most stakeholders would benefit if the stonewalling stopped, but not Sculptor boss Jimmy Levin.
Pinault’s Hollywood foray is untimely distraction 8 Sep 2023 The French tycoon will buy a majority stake in talent agency CAA, valued at $7 bln. The Tinseltown escapade offers diversification from luxury giant Kering. But it may complicate CEO François-Henri Pinault’s attempt to revive star brand Gucci while digesting other large deals.
Smurfit US deal would paper over post-Covid downer 7 Sep 2023 Europe’s No. 1 seller of boxes used by the likes of Amazon may merge with US peer WestRock to form a $20 bln giant. Smurfit Kappa snubbed a similar transatlantic deal in 2018. This time, synergies offer a logical way to offset a waning trend in pandemic-era home deliveries.
Double defensive gas deal offers relative cleaning 6 Sep 2023 Canadian pipeline firm Enbridge wants to reduce dependence on transporting oil. Dominion Energy wants to concentrate on clean electricity. Selling retail gas distribution businesses for $9.4 bln to Enbridge doesn’t directly reduce emissions. But it does make both look cleaner.
SoftBank’s reduced Arm price tag is still too high 5 Sep 2023 The Japanese group may float its UK chip designer for $50-54 bln. That’s lower than initially hoped, but still implies an implausible future where revenue and profitability soar. If Arm merely grows at recent rates and nudges up margins, its market worth is more like $35 bln.
Twinkies maker will give food brands a sugar high 1 Sep 2023 Sweet-treat purveyor Hostess is mulling a sale to a conglomerate seven years after private equity firm Apollo took it public for $2.3 bln. At its current valuation, and as the pandemic sugar rush fades, there’s not much cream left for the next buyer to squeeze.
Capital Calls: Microsoft in the EU, Dollar General 31 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: The software giant will sell its Teams communications app separately from other software in the European Union; the discount retailer’s poor results reflect a more resilient US economy.
Body Shop sale may give Natura skin-deep makeover 30 Aug 2023 After offloading Aesop for top dollars, the Brazilian beauty giant may struggle to fetch the cosmetics brand’s original $1 bln price tag in a sale. The M&A spree reversal will simplify Natura’s structure. But sprucing up its surviving Avon arm and other labels looks hard.
Alphabet moonshots are ready for launch 29 Aug 2023 Google’s parent lost $6 bln last year on experimental ventures, such as health-data cruncher Verily and self-driving outfit Waymo. As CFO and former tech banker Ruth Porat takes charge of the unit, it’s probably a good time to consider carving out some and refocusing on others.
UK biotech sale offers cautionary spin on US pivot 29 Aug 2023 Abcam, a Cambridge-based maker of proteins for research, is selling to Danaher for $5.7 bln. Shifting listing venues from London to New York, as the seller did recently, is in vogue. But given its US buyer has got a good price, it’s a sign that doing so is far from a panacea.
Rolex’s deal is ticking time bomb for retailers 25 Aug 2023 Shares of Watches of Switzerland slumped 28% after the timepiece-maker bought retail chain Bucherer. The fear is that the luxury group wants to sell directly to consumers. Building a store network won’t be quick but WoS’s business model, and its independence, are under threat.
Roark scores sandwich deal better than $5 footlong 24 Aug 2023 Family-owned Subway is settling for a $10 bln price in its sale to the buyout firm. It values the chain at a lower multiple than peers and other deals, including Roark’s Dunkin’ purchase. With IPO markets opening and terms protecting buyers, there’s plenty to nibble on.
Capital Calls: Shein/Forever 21 24 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: The Chinese retailer is partnering with Sparc, the operator behind Forever 21. That helps validate Shein before a public listing without the messiness of a merger. Forever 21 gets a new omnichannel and potentially a way to an IPO.
Private funds’ regulatory dream meets logical end 23 Aug 2023 Securities watchdogs are proposing safeguards for private equity and hedge fund investors. The now-$25 trln industry owes its growth partly to lighter regulation than at the banks it is displacing. Tighter rules will irk some, but growing up should bring new responsibilities.
Beware the hedge fund deal that’s not about money 23 Aug 2023 Bill Ackman, Marc Lasry and Boaz Weinstein want to buy Sculptor, which manages $34 bln. Instead, Daniel Och’s former shop accepted a lower bid from real estate investor Rithm. Sculptor’s doubts about the moguls’ funding sounds fishy, as does the idea they couldn’t work it out.
Microsoft rethink puts big tech M&A back on table 22 Aug 2023 The $2.4 trln tech giant will sell streaming rights to Ubisoft in a bid to get UK approval for its $69 bln Activision deal. The big concession is likely to work. It shows a path for tech giants to buy rivals, while sidelining regulators' fears that M&A will kill nascent markets.
Capital Calls: Coinbase’s Circle deal 22 Aug 2023 Concise views on global finance: Crypto exchange Coinbase is investing in struggling $26 bln stablecoin issuer Circle. Tokens tracking the US dollar haven’t delivered on hopes of transforming finance; the deal promises little current payoff, but at least keeps the dream alive.